


And the Space You leave Behind

by AndiinaRaethTash



Series: When All We Had Was Eternity [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: 5+1 Things, Episode: s03e10 An Inside Man, Gen, Post-Episode: s03e21-22 Zero Hour, Star Wars Rebels: Steps Into Shadow, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-26 15:45:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19771384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndiinaRaethTash/pseuds/AndiinaRaethTash
Summary: Clandestine: characterized by, done in, or executed with secrecy or concealment.With the crew back together again, the war seems to have begun in earnest. Having decided to keep the identity of the masked messenger a secret, a new agent, code-named Wraith, gets ready to take on the galaxy.Or: Five times someone met Wraith, and one time someone met the person behind the mask.





	1. Commander Jun Sato

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm experimenting with this type of layout. Let me know what you think.   
> I'm also writing from a point of view that's not Kanan! Shocking, right? Let me know if I totally butchered any of the characterizations.

The return to Atollon was quiet. For all the rest of the base knew, it was just the  _ Ghost  _ returning from a milk run. Commander Sato, however, knew better. He knew about the unplanned detour to Lothal that Jarrus (who'd refused any military title) had insisted on, knew that if they were bringing the Force-sensitive (whom Captain Syndulla had informed him had been code-named  _ Wraith) _ here, then they must either trust him completely or think he was in danger. Given how tight Captain Syndulla insisted that security be, he decided it must be the former.

Personnel bustled around him as he watched the landing gear extend, the hydraulics hissing and steaming as the freighter landed. Almost no one paid them any mind as Sato briskly marched forward.

Fulcrum met him at the ramp with a smile. She was very relaxed, completely at ease despite the fact that she was authorizing an unknown agent to wander their secret base. Sato opened his mouth to ask her what the blazes she was thinking, but Fulcrum spoke first.

"Commander Sato, I understand you have questions for us. Rest assured that we thought this through. We will explain our reasoning, but this is a conversation best held inside. Wraith's identity must be kept secret, even from the majority of the Rebellion."

Sato pursed his lips but nodded sharply. "Very well. I assume he's on board?"

Fulcrum nodded and led him through the ship to the common room, where the majority of the crew was gathered. The only people missing were Jarrus and 'Wraith.'

Captain Syndulla stood and smiled warmly. She seemed much more at ease than she had in months. In fact, they all did. They all had a new spark of hope in their eyes, a solid set to their shoulders. Even the C1 droid seemed more alive.

It was strange. Given the connection the crew had to Lothal, Sato expected them to be a bit more downcast. But as he watched Wren and Orrelios playfully elbowing each other, he realized that the unexpected trip seemed to have invigorated them instead.

"Welcome aboard, Commander." Captain Syndulla said as she stepped forward. "Sorry about all the secrecy, but, well, I'm sure you'll understand. This must be kept under wraps, even more tightly than Ahsoka's identity. If the Empire finds out… well, it won't be good."

Sato nodded, clasping his hands behind his back. "I understand. Tell me, when do I get to meet this mysterious Force-wielder?"

From the couch, Wren huffed. "Oh, whenever he and Kanan decide to stop meditating and actually join us."

Fulcrum's smile turned wry. "I'll go get them." She turned to Sato and whispered conspiratorially, "They've been sequestered in Kanan's room all day. We were going to wait for them to come out on their own, but apparently they don't want to grace us with their presence."

"Hey, we're here now," Jarrus's voice echoed down the corridor. "We were just waiting until we got to base."

Captain Syndulla snorted. "We've been back at base for five minutes, love."

A different voice from behind Jarrus replied playfully. "We know, we wanted to see how long you'd wait before losing patience." As the pair stepped into the room, Sato stiffened and stared. "And honestly," Ezra Bridger continued, "You didn't last very long."

Sato glanced around at the rest of the  _ Ghost's _ crew, almost wondering if he was imagining things. Orrelios answered that question for him, though.

"Kid, patience is a Jedi thing. We're not Jedi. We're not gonna wait on you forever."

So they could see him, too. He wasn't imagining things. That was good news.

The better news was what this meant for the Rebellion. Not only did they have another Jedi on hand now, it was one they trusted and the Empire thought was dead. That alone was a relief, and made better for the fact that it took a load of guilt that Sato had been carrying for months away. Logically, he knew Bridger's death had been in no way his fault, but as his Commander, he had been responsible for the young man's safety, and he had failed.

Sato stepped forward. "Bridger… I take it you were the one to send the message?"

The younger Jedi nodded and turned in Sato's direction. It was only then, as Bridger replied, that Sato noticed something that should have been immediately obvious. 

Bridger was blind. His long hair had partially hidden it before, but an angry red scar ran above his cheekbones, leaving sightless white eyes beneath it. How it had happened, Sato could only guess, but it was horrifying to see someone so young injured so badly.

He blinked as he realized he'd been staring, then realized he missed Bridger's reply. Thankfully, the conversation moved on without his input.

Jarrus was the next one to talk, explaining that Bridger had reached out through the Force to contact his Master after he'd sent the message. After confirming it was indeed Bridger, the crew had rushed to Lothal to pick him up.

Sato's only reaction to the story was to blink a couple times before finding his voice. "Well, I am glad you're back, and that you're- at least mostly- alright."

Bridger just grinned. "Good to be back, Commander." His smile died a little bit as he hesitantly added, "We wanna tell my parents. Are they here? At Chopper Base, I mean."

Sato caught himself before he could nod, and responded verbally instead. "Yes. They've taken no field assignments, at all. Mostly they handle logistics and such. I'll comm them, shall I?"

Captain Syndulla shook her head. "It'd be better if I comm them. Usually, you comm for business, I comm for personal reasons." Sato nodded, then watched as she used her comm to ask the Bridgers to join them on the Ghost.

** _______ **

The Bridgers' reunion was private. Jarrus and Syndulla stayed on the ship, but avoided the common room where the parents and their son were gathered. Wren and Orrelios dragged their droid out into the base to help with grunt work, while Fulcrum and Sato went to the command center to try to get some work done. Judging by the glances she kept stealing at the parked freighter, though, Fulcrum's mind was anywhere but the mission plan she was supposed to be organizing.

Sato sighed and reached over to steal the data pad she'd been working on, setting it down rather forcefully. She glared at him slightly as he crossed his arms.

"When was the last time you slept?" He demanded. Normally, he wouldn't nag at her, but she had been neglecting herself since Malachor, and even though Bridger was apparently alright, she still had the shadows under her eyes.

Fulcrum rubbed her forehead tiredly. "I dozed on the way to Lothal, but I think the last full night's sleep I got was… nearly a week ago."

Sato raised an eyebrow and Fulcrum sighed. "Alright, I'll go get some rest now. Let me know if you need anything."

"I won't!" Sato called after her, sighing. Jedi were impossible.


	2. Captain Rex

It was Ahsoka who reminded the others that they needed to tell Rex. Ezra immediately agreed, and while Hera insisted that he would be the last person they told, Kanan honestly didn't seem to have a problem with it. After all, he knew how close Ezra and Rex had been in the previous timeline, and how close they had been in this one before Malachor.

The only problem was that Rex wasn't on Chopper Base. He'd taken an assignment to fetch some Y-wings from Reklam Station. 

As soon as Ezra heard that, he immediately whipped his head up and looked in Kanan's direction. While he couldn't see his Master's expression, he could feel his surprise quickly hardening into resolve. 

"They're going to run into trouble." Kanan's voice was tense, and Ezra could feel Hera's surprise. Still, he nodded. The sentinel's mask he was wearing to hide his face disguised his voice as he agreed.

"If they haven't run into trouble already. They're going to need help evacuating. The Y-wings won't have their hyperdrives, so they're definitely going to need the fighter carrier." 

Hera hesitated, then replied calmly. "Alright. We'll take the  _ Ghost  _ in, with the carrier not far behind. If you're right, it'll be right there for pickup. If not, we won't be risking it for no reason. That is, if you agree, Commander Sato?"

The Commander must have nodded because Hera continued. "Great. Kanan, go get Zeb and Sabine. We'll be leaving as soon as they're ready."

Ezra nodded and turned to head back to the  _ Ghost _ when Hera's voice stopped him.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Turning back to face her, he grinned, and despite the mask, he knew she could tell. "I'm coming with, of course. Or do ya really think he's gonna let me out of his sight anytime soon?" Ezra threw a thumb in the general direction he felt Kanan had gone.

Hera sighed, and probably was pressing her hand to her temple. "You're right, I just… promise me you'll try to be careful."

With a cocky grin and salute, Ezra shot back, "Do or do not, there is no try!" He said nothing about promising. 

Later, it turned out to be a good thing. When the squad reported that yes, the hyperdrives were missing, and yes, Rex was still on the station, Ezra was glad Hera couldn't point to that promise and insist that he remain on board. The only good news was that Rex wasn't stupid or overconfident enough to destroy the power generator for the station, so it was still hovering in the atmosphere. The bad news was that Thrawn was still smart enough to predict where they'd go, and had sent his fleet.

So as the  _ Ghost  _ hurtled through the atmosphere, dodging blasterfire from TIE fighters, Ezra took a deep breath and cleared his mind before joining Kanan and Zeb at the ramp. He could hear the latter's grumbling, and feel how unhappy the former was about the arrangement, but he didn't care. He was glad to be fighting alongside his family again, and he let the sentiment spill across the bond.

Beside him, he heard Kanan shift slightly, then felt his hand rest heavily on his shoulder. Kanan's reluctance was understandable, but Ezra was ready to fight. He reached up to secure his mask and hood, aware that while he was fine with Rex knowing, he wasn't about to let every buckethead on the station know, as well.

The ramp lowered, and the trio ran out onto the shuddering walkway. This high up, the wind was cold, and sliced through his clothes like a knife. He shivered as he followed Kanan's sure footsteps, using the Force to tell if the ground in front of him was even and steady. They were practically running, despite the station's minute trembling from the wind, and violent shaking from the TIE fighters' blasterfire. Somewhere ahead of him, Ezra could feel Rex's familiar Force presence, surrounded by more than a dozen unfamiliar ones. They were the only other people on the station.

"Kanan!" Ezra called, trying to get his Master's attention. 

"I know, I can feel them too!" Came the reply, and Ezra felt himself relax slightly. At least one of them wasn't going in completely blind. Mentally chuckling at his joke, he put on a bit more speed to catch up with the other two, both of whom had significantly longer legs then he did. Which was kriffing  _ unfair _ .

They found Rex in the hanger, on his knees with about eighteen Stormtroopers pointing their rifles at his head. The officer who'd been in charge was in the middle of a monologue, and Ezra had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

They were hiding behind a bulkhead, trying to figure out how to get to Rex without earning him a blaster bolt to the brain. Concentrating, Ezra reached out with the Force and carefully jammed about half of the rifles. Using hand signals, he relayed the plan to the other two. Without waiting for a reply, he stepped into the open with his hands spread.

"I wouldn't, if I were you." With the voice scrambler in the mask, his voice sounded menacing. Instantly, the 'troopers raised their guns, aiming for him instead of Rex. Which was what Ezra had been hoping would happen.

He took a step forward, and the officer yelled, "Halt! Identify yourself! Get off this station!"

Ezra cocked his head. "How can I get off this station if I halt?" As the officer's mouth flopped uselessly, Ezra cautiously reached out and jammed the remaining rifles. If they tried to fire, they would explode. Not massively, and not in a way that would make Sabine proud, but enough to knock the 'troopers out, at least.

He took another step forward, and he heard Rex mutter, "Stop, you're gonna get yourself killed…"

The sound of metal hitting flesh rang out and Ezra seethed internally at the image that filtered into his mind's eye: one of the 'troopers blaster-whipping Rex in the face.  _ There is no emotion, there is peace, _ he reminded himself. Another step, then he stopped, resting his hands at his sides.

The officer snarled. "Stand down, now. You're severely outnumbered, and you're unarmed. If you surrender, I might let you live."

Ezra hummed slightly, feeling Kanan reach out in the Force to grab ahold of several of the 'troopers. After a moment of pretending to consider the offer, he shook his head. "I'm going to have to pass on that one."

"Open fire!" The officer barked, then yelped as the troopers who'd tried to obey were thrown backwards by their own exploding weapons. Half of the remaining troopers suddenly found themselves thrown across the hanger, and the last few were gunned down quickly by Zeb's bo-rifle. 

Ezra calmly marched forward, aware that Kanan and Zeb were rushing up behind him to flank him. In front of him, the officer was whimpering from his position on the floor, and Rex was practically limp with relief.

"Kanan, Zeb, it's good to see you. Who's the new guy?" There was a click as Kanan released the binders that had held the clone's hands together behind his back. Kanan answered shortly.

"Long story. What're we gonna do with him?" He asked, no doubt gesturing to the officer.

Zeb chuckled darkly. "I've got some frustrations I need to work through." The sound of knuckles popping was followed by more whimpering. "After all, it's not like he can really complain."

Ezra hummed slightly, then shook his head. "Just shoot him and be over with it."

He could feel Kanan's shock flood through their bond just before he yelped, "E- Wraith!"

Pursing his lips at Kanan's near slip, he shrugged. "It'd keep all of this confidential. And it's not like he's really worth anything to the Empire."

Over their bond, though, he was telling Kanan something completely different. ' _ If he's scared enough, he'll spill any secret in return for his life. I'm not actually gonna kill him.' _

Kanan paused for a minute before gritting out, "Fine. Not like we'd have a use for him anyway."

Ezra could tell that Rex and Zeb were about to protest, but thankfully the officer broke before they could. "No, please, I'll tell you anything! Here, I have a data pad with all the intel I'm cleared to know, and then some! Please, just don't kill me!"

Kanan huffed. "I'm assuming the 'pad is encrypted, though?"

"I'll give you the encryption code, too! Please, just please, don't kill me!" A beat of silence passed before Kanan finally said, "Thanks." Then there was the sound of a punch being thrown--and hitting someone cleanly on the jaw--and Ezra had to wince.

"Oh, he's gonna be feeling that in the morning," he said sympathetically.

Rex practically growled. "Like you'd care, you were gonna kill him!"

Kanan laughed. "Who, Wraith? Nah, he was just scaring him, trying to get him to talk."

Ezra nodded. "I have it on good authority that a mask and a voice scrambler can make a very intimidating impression." He made no effort to disguise the childishness of his voice, even if the pitch was garbled by the aforementioned scrambler.

He could feel Rex tense. "You brought another  _ kid  _ into the war?" The clone demanded, and Kanan and Zeb instantly bristled. Confused, Ezra stepped forward.

"Look, Captain, it's a long story, one we'll have plenty of time for on the way back to base. Right now, Phoenix Leader is waiting to pick us up. Let's go."

He led the way back out to the walkway. As they ran, he sent a wordless inquiry through the bond, and felt a wave of exhausted… guilt? Anger? It was some kind of emotion that made Ezra want to stop right there and hug Kanan for all he was worth. The feeling was followed by the words, ' _ it's been a hard several months on all of us. _ ' Still, Ezra let it go as he felt and heard the engines of the  _ Ghost  _ get closer.

He heard the ramp extending, and was going to try to jump, when he felt Zeb's hand grab his shoulder roughly before pitching him on board. He hit the deck hard and rolled away, groaning as he rubbed his shoulder, which had slammed against the floor of the cargo hold hard.

As he sat up, he heard the others jump aboard and scowled at where he knew Zeb was. "Really? That  _ hurt _ ."

A startled intake of breath echoed through the cargo hold as Zeb replied, "Wasn't sure you'd be able to make the jump. Can't be too careful."

"No, but you can be more gentle," he griped, reaching up to brush the hair out of his face. The moment his hand brushed his forehead, though, he realized that he wasn't wearing his mask anymore. It must have fallen off when Zeb chucked him onboard. "Karabast," he muttered before turning towards Rex with a cautious smile.

There was dead silence for a minute before Kanan broke it. "...Rex? Buddy, you gonna be okay?"

Rex's voice was strangled when he responded. "That's  _ Ezra _ ."

Another beat of silence. One of the other two probably nodded, and Ezra took the opportunity to quip, "Despite the code name, I can assure you I'm not actually dead."

A laugh that was really more of a release of air, and Rex whispered, "Am I dreaming?"

Ezra cocked his head. "Why do people always assume that? I mean I know I'm dreamy, but-" 

He was interrupted by Zeb's guffaw. "Keep telling yourself that, kid."

Ezra was about to retort when a pair of strong arms pulled him in for a hug. Startled, he took in the smell of carbon scoring and plastoid and smiled as he realized that Rex was hugging him, apparently no longer satisfied with just seeing and hearing him.

After a few seconds, the clone pulled away, and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. If I'd known-"

"Hey," Ezra cut him off. "Not your fault. Everyone makes assumptions, and we were purposely hiding my identity. Other than you, my parents, Ahsoka, and the  _ Ghost's  _ crew, no one can know. Makes it harder for the Empire to strike back-- or anticipate me. So for everyone else, I'm just Wraith."

A sigh from Rex. "I'm... also sorry for what happened on Malachor."

Ezra shook his head again. "Also not your fault. My decisions, my consequences. Nothing you could have said or done would have changed what happened."

The sound of skin rubbing skin. He was probably rubbing the back of his neck. "I could have been there."

A snort from Kanan. Until that moment, Ezra had almost forgotten that he was there. "If you'd been there, you might have actually died. We have no way of knowing what might have changed and what might have stayed the same. All we know is what happened, and all we can do is move forward. All of us."

Rex moved away from Ezra. "I can't believe you let him go out on a field mission. You must have just picked him up and in case you haven't noticed, he's blind."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Ezra snarked. "Besides, I'm standing right here."

Simultaneously, Zeb and Kanan responded, "We know." Kanan added, "And we didn't really  _ let _ him, he just tagged along."

"But you didn't stop me," Ezra pointed out as he climbed the ladder up to the cockpit.

Behind him, Kanan snorted. "Because there's no point trying to talk you out of something once you get it in your head."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, after writing this chapter, I am in awe of people who can write entire fics from Kanan's POV post-Malachor. Seriously, how do they do it?  
> Anyway, comment your opinions and let me know if anything or anyone seemed out of character. Seriously, that's one of my biggest fears.


	3. Agent Kallus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I use a fair bit of dialogue from the show in this chapter,so if you recognize it it's not mine. Also, if you get the reference I throw in here, I can freely call you a nerd. But, hey, I'll be one to talk because I made the reference.

Kanan slammed the call button for the elevator, trying to keep himself from glancing over his shoulder for the approaching stormtroopers. Beside him, Ezra shifted, his expression hidden by the scout's helmet he wore as part of his disguise. The only part of this mission that was different was who was blind; other than that, everything had played out exactly the same. They'd been brought into the factory, Mr. Sumar had been killed (although they'd tried to prevent that), and they'd found the intel on the new TIE Interceptors. Honestly, the only thing that had yet to happen was-

Agent Kallus was staring at them when the elevator doors slid open. "You two," he barked, "Come with me to secure the perimeter."

Cautiously, Kanan stepped into the elevator, followed by Ezra and Chopper. The former's anticipation was palpable in the Force; the latter was almost quivering with nervous energy. As the doors began to slide closed, the Stormtroopers who'd been chasing them rounded the corner, yelling for them to stop.

The doors shut, and Kallus muttered, "Don't move… _rebels._ "

Before Kanan could move or say anything, Ezra sent a quick, ' _play along for a minute_ ' over their bond before saying out loud, "Um, sir?" in a perfect impression of the stormtrooper they'd just run from.

Kallus stiffened slightly, and while his expression betrayed nothing, Kanan could feel his confusion- and fear- through the Force. Ezra let the silent tension hold for a minute before shaking slightly- a sure sign that he was laughing internally- and whispering ' _you do most of the talking_ ' through their Force bond.

Kanan rolled his eyes before popping his bucket off and turning to glare at Kallus. While he knew they could trust him, he wasn't supposed to know that yet. Still, when Kallus practically sagged in relief to see he'd actually been right, he had to suppress a laugh.

Kanan gave Ezra a quick glare. "Very funny, Wraith." Turning back to Kallus, he crossed his arms defensively. "I'm assuming there's a reason you haven't shot us in the back?"

Kallus nodded, dropping his voice. "By the light of Lothal's moons."

As Chopper squawked in surprised dismay, Kanan carefully kept himself from visibly reacting. Which wasn't hard, considering he already knew. Still, he forced himself to blink once. Twice. In what could be interpreted as surprise.

" _You're_ Fulcrum? Of course you are. Typical." Kanan pretended to grouse.

Kallus nodded, giving Ezra a suspicious glance. The kid still hadn't removed his helmet- as they had agreed; his identity was a powerful defense- so Kallus was understandable in doubting he could trust him.

Still, Kanan glared, and Kallus returned his attention to the known variable.

"Yes, I'm Fulcrum. Zeb saved my life on the ice moon, and I saved Sabine Wren at the fighter academy. I know we don't have the best history, but you must trust me if you want to get out of here alive."

Kanan pretended to consider it for a minute, until Chopper squawked. Kallus relaxed minutely as he translated the binary.

"Your _droid_ trusts me."

Kanan snorted. "Yeah, that's not exactly a vote of confidence in your favor." He turned to Ezra. "What do you think?"

Ezra crossed his arms and dropped the pitch of his voice, enough that Kanan could tell it was faked, but Kallus couldn't, and wouldn't recognize it, either. "He helped me hold the transmission. I don't have the same history with him that you do," (Kanan had to physically restrain himself from facepalming) "but I say we trust him. Besides, if he stabs us in the back, he’ll have the guts to do it to our face. And if he does, we’ll be able to return the favor."

Kanan gave a quick laugh at the surprise on Kallus's face. "Sounds like a plan. Think you can help us help us get a signal to our friends?"

Kallus nodded, then hit a button on the panel. As the elevator moved, he glanced at the back of Ezra's helmet.

"So you're Wraith? I was expecting someone more…" He trailed off as the tension in the elevator became actual, physical pressure. Kanan wasn't exactly sure which one of the two of them were projecting their emotions into the Force, but the effect was immediate. Kallus shut up.

As they stormed the comm center with Kanan’s lightsaber in full display, Kallus backed into the room, firing haphazardly at the two. Kanan wasn’t sure if he was intentionally missing, or just counting on them to dodge. Either way, as he (rather pointlessly) told the others that they were rebels, Kanan Force-shoved a ‘trooper into the agent’s chest, knocking him back against the console as Ezra stunned the officer on duty.

Kallus groaned from the floor. “You could have warned me you were going to do that.”

Kanan shrugged. “Sorry. Figured you’d appreciate having your cover intact more than you’d appreciate not having a bump on your head.”

Kallus huffed, then nodded at the console behind him. “Your droid can open your comlinks from this console. I’ll provide the access codes.” As Chopper warbled something to him in binary, Kallus’s eyebrows shot up. “You don’t… need them?” Standing, he looked at Kanan in surprise. “This C1 of yours is very efficient.”

Chopper warbled happily and Kanan rolled his eyes before pulling out his comlink. “Ryder? It’s Kanan. You there?”

A beat of silence, then Ryder’s voice responded over the comm. “Closer than you think. We’re about to hit the east gate, give you a chance to escape. You and Wraith okay? You were radio silent for a while, there.”

“We’re good, we’ll see you in a bit. Thanks.” Kanan tucked his comlink back into his belt as he, Chopper, and Ezra made there way to the door.

“Make for the east vehicle pool,” Kallus told them. “You’ll find a walker there you can escape in. Now, I just have to make _this_ look convincing.”

“Okay,” Ezra was grinning behind his helmet, Kanan could tell, but before he could Force-shove Kallus through the glass, Kanan beat him to it. “Hey!” Ezra protested. 

“What?” Kanan asked with a teasing smile. “ _That_ is convincing.”

Behind them, Kallus groaned and Kanan winced. He was probably regretting meeting the Spectres all those years ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter than normal, I know. And I'm sorry about it, but there really wasn't any more I felt I needed to add.  
> This is one of the first parts I wrote because I thought Ezra and Kanan trolling Kallus would just be hilarious. And it was. I was giggling like a lunatic while writing it.


	4. Ezra Bridger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally the shortest chapter I've ever written. I considered just tagging it onto the end of the last one, but ultimately decided against it.  
> I'm aware that I'm skipping through the seasons like they're Youtube ads, and trust me I'm going to fill in the blanks with one-shots, but for the main story arc I'm going through, I didn't really want to slow it down figuring out how every episode would have changed.

Carefully nursing his bruised ribs, Kallus followed Zeb through the cramped halls of the  _ Ghost.  _ He wasn't sure why Syndulla and Jarrus wanted to talk to him, just that the conversation was being held in the  _ Phantom  _ and was completely confidential. At a guess, they wanted to debrief him, but if that was the case, he didn't understand why they wouldn't have that conversation somewhere more accessible for the wounded.

Gingerly, he hauled himself into the small shuttle, surprised to see Wren and the C1 droid inside as well. Syndulla was sitting in the pilot's seat, with Jarrus right beside her. Wren and the droid were casually standing to his right, watching him, and when Zeb clambered in behind him, the Lasat stood across from them.

Feeling slightly like he'd walked into an interrogation- and honestly, the shuttle was a little small for this kind of meeting- Kallus stepped back cautiously, only to bump into the person he hadn't noticed.

Wraith snorted in amusement. He was wearing his hood and mask from the transmission- and Force, that had been a long time ago- but his crossed arms and defensive posture made up for the lack of visible facial expressions. "Relax. This isn't an interrogation."

Instead, Kallus tensed more. There'd been speculation as to whether or not Wraith was actually a Jedi, and while Kallus was of the opinion that he was not, the way he had said that had sounded like he'd just read his mind.

Behind him, Jarrus spoke up. "You've trusted us with your life, risking everything to help us. You've been honest with us. We felt it was time we did the same."

Kallus raised an eyebrow, glancing around the gathered crew before movement caught his eye. He turned to see Wraith removing both mask and hood, dropping the former onto the ground and letting the latter hang down around his shoulders.

Kallus stumbled back, not believing his eyes. Bridger had pulled his hair back into a ponytail, similar to his Jedi Master's, making the scar that ran across his eyes prominently visible. He was taller, and had put on a bit more weight. But changes to his looks aside, there was simply no  _ way _ this was Bridger. He'd been confirmed dead for over a year. As his thoughts short-circuited, Kallus managed to stutter, "I find the codename ridiculously on point now."

Wren snorted behind him. "Yeah, that was part of the reason we picked it."

Bridger smiled faintly and looked past him. "How good's his face? It must be pretty funny."

Zeb snorted. "He's gapin' like a fish and staring so hard I think 'is eyeballs are gonna roll out of 'is head."

Clamping his mouth shut, Kallus straightened. "I can assume that the number of people who are aware of your identity is minimal?"

Jarrus was the one who answered as he came to stand next to Kallus. "Yes, it is. If the Empire doesn’t know who he is, they have no idea how he’ll operate. Even Thrawn can’t predict his moves. It also pulls the attention off of us a bit, because the Empire doesn’t know for sure that we operate together, and they can’t target his friends to draw him about because they don’t know who they are. I’m sure you can understand. But we decided to tell you, because you are trusting us. It wasn't fair for us not to trust you."

"Pretty much just the people here, Commander Sato, Rex, and Fulcrum Prime know now," Bridger's voice was quiet and sad. 

Behind Kallus, Zeb straightened. "What about your parents?"

Bridger just shook his head. Jarrus reached forward and pulled the young Jedi into a hug, while behind them, Syndulla muttered, "Oh, Ezra…"

Kallus hung back as the rest of the crew gathered around their youngest crew member. He felt like he was intruding on something private, and as much as he felt that it was inappropriate for him to be witnessing this, he felt strangely honored that Bridger and the rest trusted him enough not only to let him in on the secret, but to lower their guard so he could see this. Watching as Jarrus and Syndulla held the shaking teen, he promised himself he would protect Wraith's secret with his life. 

Later, when he found out that Ephraim Bridger had stayed behind on  _ Phoenix Home  _ to pilot it into the Interdictor to allow Jarrus to escape and alert their Mandalorian allies to the danger, when he found out that Mira Bridger had taken a blaster bolt to the chest to protect her son, he swore he would protect Bridger in their stead. Jarrus and Syndulla might step into the shoes his parents left, but that wouldn’t stop Kallus from fighting to the death to protect him. The Empire had taken enough from the boy, and now the rebels were depending on him to ensure he wouldn’t lose anything more.

And he would not betray their trust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I killed them off. I'm sorry.

**Author's Note:**

> I know most of you were probably looking forward to the reunion between the Bridgers, and I am counting it as two out of the five things, but I wasn't comfortable writing them. So in the interest of not butchering their characters, I elected to have it happen off-screen. I might eventually go back and actually write the scene, but no promises.  
> Anyway, let me know what you thought!


End file.
